Simplified orthopaedic back support

ABSTRACT

The back support is constructed from a back brace of elastic material which carries a gel pad and an air bladder. The brace supports the pad against lower back of the user in firm engagement. The air bladder is juxtaposed and generally co-extensive with the pattern containing the gel-like material. The air bladder has three individually inflatable chambers, including left, right, and overall areas, so that the user may adjust the pressure exerted on the pad and hence the support of the lower back. The gel pad may also contain an adjustable heating element to electrically heat the gel-like material. The main .[.portion.]. .Iadd.body member .Iaddend.of the back brace has two wide belt portions which extend forewardly and upwardly from the main lower back support area, and which are secured together by overlapping Velcro members at the lower stomach area; and the centerlines of these two wide belt portions may make an angle of about 30 degrees to 60 degrees with one-another. The air bladder assembly includes straps secured thereto which extend from the bladders per se through slits in the wide belts of the main .[.portion.]. .Iadd.body member .Iaddend.of the back support and which straps are secured to the outer surfaces of the wide belts.

This application for letters patent is a Continuation-In-Part,application Ser. No. 07/308,687, filed Feb. 8, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No.4,993,409.

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to back supports, and moreparticularly, to a novel back support having a gel pad and an inflatablebladder to press the gel pad against the lower back of the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Back supports having air inflatable bladders are known. For example,U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,957 (Curlee), discloses a therapeutic corset havingan elongated support surface formed from material which is bendable whensubjected to forces encountered thereby. A flexible cover is disposed onthe support surface and secured thereto along its edges to form anenvelope. The envelope has a plurality of cells, such that when theenvelope is inflated, it assumes a predetermined curvature such as acrescent. When the corset is secured around a user, the envelope is heldadjacent the sacrum lumbar and thoracic region of the body. Since thecorset is formed from a relatively inelastic belting material, inflationof the envelope will exert a force against the above-mentioned bodyregion. The envelope as described above has a plurality of vertical ribswhich form the series of intercommunicating inflatable cells. Thevertical ribs cause the envelope to shrink thereby insuring the tabularribs of always conform to the anatomy during a full range of movement.For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,587 (Curlee) which discloses onesuch envelope and U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,588 (Curlee) which discloses avertical stack of interconnected envelopes.

A disadvantage and limitation of the above device is that the inflatableenvelope is secured adjacent the body by relatively inelastic beltingmaterial. Such belting material if improperly secured about the torsomay shift in position, negating the therapeutic effects of the corset,and also causing discomfort to the wearer.

In the treatment of spinal disorder, it is also desirable to use hot orcold therapy in conjunction with the support provided by a back brace.The devices described above in reference to the Curlee patents do notdisclose such therapy.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to overcome one ormore of the limitations and disadvantages of the prior art aboveenumerated. It is another object of the present invention to provide aback brace adaptable for hot or cold therapy and adjustable by airinflation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a back supportincludes a first pad having a gel-like substance contained therein andan air bladder co-extensive with, and juxtaposed to, the gel pad. Theback support further includes means for supporting the gel pad in firmengagement against the lower back of a user and means for inflating theair bladder to press the pad against the lower back. The gel pad mayfurther be removed for heating or cooling and reinserted prior to usefor hot or cold therapy.

In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the air bladderhas three chambers so that the user may adjust the pressure applied onthe back according to the contours of the user's back. In preferredembodiments of the invention, two inner air bladders are provided, oneon either side of the spine of the user, and a third, larger area,inflatable bladder is located behind the other two bladders to supportand supply directed pressure to the gel pad and/or directly to thepatient's back.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the back support furtherincludes an electrical heating elements or wires disposed within the gelpad. External power either from a battery pack or from a wall outlet maysupply current to the heating element. In the case of wall power currentbeing used, a variable transformer allows the user to adjust the currentin the heating element to adjust temperature.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, it has beendetermined that it is preferable for the broad belt members, extendingforwardly from a lower back pad, extend upwardly over the hips, andengage one another across the lower stomach area. The resultant geometryof the orthopaedic support includes the fact that the projectedcenterlines of the two broad belt members make an angle of about 30degrees to sixty degrees with respect to one another. It is also notedthat patients complaining of lower back problems often have protrudingstomach areas. The engagement of the broad straps across the lowerstomach area has the further advantageous factor of providing acorset-like upward pressure on this lower stomach area.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the inflatablebladder assembly has integrally associated straps which extend outwardlyin alignment with, and exterior to, the main broad resilient beltmembers. In order for the inflatable bladders to be close to thepatient, or to the thermal therapy pad, and for the straps for theinflatable bladder assembly to be on the outside of the main broadstraps of the brace, these straps extend through slots through the mainresilient brace construction on both sides of the main support area.

The brace may then be initially mounted on the patient and secured bylarge VELCRO pads or the like, and the inflatable bladder straps maythen be pulled firm, and secured to the main broad brace belt members,also by VELCRO tabs or the like. The three inflatable bladders may thenbe inflated to apply the desired pressure to the lower back area.

VELCRO is a trademark, and the products sold under the VELCRO trademarkare mating fabric pads, with one of the pads having its surface providedwith a fine array of closely spaced outwardly protruding hooks, and theother of the mating pads being outwardly extending loops or othermaterial with which the hooks may engage.

It is noted in passing that the multiple inflatable bladder assembly hasa right-hand section, a left-hand section, and an overall section, whichare separately inflatable. In some cases where lower back alignmentcorrection is needed, this may be accomplished by providing moreinflation to the left bladder and less to the right, or vice-versa.

In one embodiment, the features outlined above are implemented by a unitwhich has wide belts Q made of elasticized material, and pockets forselectively holding the thermal therapy pad and the inflatable bladder.

In a simplified embodiment, added in the Continuation-In-Partapplication, only three layers and three major parts are used: (1) the.[.main support.]. .Iadd.body member .Iaddend.portion of the assembly,which is formed of two-way stretch material such as that found in a wetsuit, with a central layer about 1/8 inch thick of foam rubber such asneoprene and two outer cloth, preferably nylon layers. Secondly, (2) themultiple bladder assembly is formed of cloth coated with plastic such asurethane to provide limited resiliency and an airtight construction, andis located on the main .[.support.]. .Iadd.body member .Iaddend.by slitsthrough the belt portions of the main support, which precisely match thewidth of the straps extending outwardly from the bladder assembly. Thebladder assembly straps are firmly secured to the main .[.support.]..Iadd.body member .Iaddend.prior to inflation. The third and optionalportion of the simplified assembly is (3) the thermal therapy pad whichmay be simply affixed to the inner surface of the bladder assembly bymating Velcro elements. To readily permit the use of the simplifiedconstruction without the thermal therapy pad, the stiffer type of VELCROmaterial (the hooks) are mounted on the thermal therapy pad, and thesofter loop type material is mounted on the bladder assembly, so nodiscomfort is encountered by direct engagement of the back of thepatient by the inner surface of the air bladder assembly.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a studyof the following description of an exemplary preferred embodiment whenread in conjunction with the attached drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an intended use of a back support constructedaccording to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partially in phantom, of the back supportshown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded elevational view of the back support of FIGS. 1and 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a enlarged perspective view of a portion of the back supportinvolving inflation of the air bladders;

FIG. 7 is cross-sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the air bladder used in the backsupport of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the opposite side of the air bladdershown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10--10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11--11 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12--12 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of another simplified embodiment of a backsupport using both thermal therapy devices and multiple inflatablebladders;

FIG. 14 shows the outside of the back support of FIG. 13;

FIGS 15 and 16 are inside and outside views, respectively, of themultiple inflatable bladder assembly, separate from the remainder of theassembly;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional vie:; taken along line 17--17 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 is a schematic showing of the construction of the bladder, asindicated at circle 18 in FIG. 17, indicating the inner woven material,coated with plastic material to provide an airtight seal for thesurface; and

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view; taken along line 19 of FIG. 14 toindicate the construction of the .[.basic.]. .Iadd.main body.Iaddend.member of the embodiment of FIGS. 13-19.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIGS. 1-12, there is shown a back support 10construction according to the principles of the present invention. Backsupport 10 includes a thermal therapy pad 12 having a gel-like material14 contained therein as best seen in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, an air bladder16, best seen in FIGS. 8-9, co-extensive with and juxtaposed to thethermal therapy pad 12, means 18 for supporting &:he pad 12 in firmengagement against the lower back 20 of a user 22, and means 24 forinflating the air bladder 16 to press the pad 12 against the lower back20. The pad 12 of the gel-like material 14 is generally constructed fromtwo sheets of vinyl which are sealed along their peripheral edges. Thegel material 14 may be any conventional orthopaedic gel, such as ElastoGel commercially available from Technologies Inc. of Kansas City, Mo.For a comfort to the user, the gel pad may be jacketed by a soft cloth(not shown).

The air bladder 16 includes a plurality of chambers 26 as best seen inFIG. 8 and FIG. 10. Each of the chambers 26 are individually inflatable,as set forth in greater detail hereinbelow, by the inflating means 24.

Inflating means 24 includes a plurality of one-way valves 28 and an airpump 30 as best seen in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6. Each of the one-way valves 28has an outlet 32 operatively communicating with the respective one ofthe chambers 26 of the air bladder 16 and an inlet 34. The air pump 30is adapted for coupling to the inlet 34 of a user selected one of theone-way air valves 28. The air pump 30 may be a conventional squeezeball.

The back support 10, in a further embodiment of the present inventionmay also include means 36 for heating the gel-like material 14 as bestseen in FIGS. 4-5. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,heating means 36 may include a resistive type electrical heating element38 disposed within the pad 12 and surrounded by the gel-like material14, and means 40 for conducting external electric power to the heatingelement 38. As best seen in FIG. 4, conducting means 40 may, in oneembodiment of the present invention, include a source 42 of DC voltageelectrically coupled to the heating element 38 through a rheostat 44 anda switch 46. The DC voltage source 42, rheostat 44, the switch 46 andthe heating element 38 are all serially coupled in a single currentloop. In an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention,conducting means 40 may include a variable transformer 48 having aprimary 50 and a secondary 52. The primary coil 50 is adapted forcoupling to a source of AC power 54, such as a conventional wall outlet.The secondary coil 52 is electrically coupled to the heating element 38through the series coupled switch 46. The variable transformer 48 isadjustable by the user 22 to regulate the current through the heatingelement 38 to regulate the heating of the gel-like material 14,similarly to the rheostat 44 described hereinabove. Switch 46 may be aconventional push button type secured by a structural support 49. A flapof material 49 may totally enclose the switch 46 but still allowactivation thereof, as best seen in FIG. 11.

The supporting means 18 is a brace 58 constructed of an elastic fabricand generally dimensioned to fit around the lower torso of the user 22to support the pad 12 adjacent the lower back 20 as hereinabovedescribed. The brace 58 includes an inner surface 60, an outer surface62, a first section 64, a second section 66 and a third section 68intermediate the first section 64 and the second section 66. The brace58 further includes means 70 for releasably attaching the first section64 to the second section 66 when the brace 58 is stretched around thetorso thereby supporting the pad 12 in firm engagement against the lowerback 22. For example, attaching means 70 may be a fastener availableunder the VELCRO trademark.

The third section 68 is dimensioned to be positioned adjacent the lowerback 20 of the user 22 and has a first pocket 72 adjacent the innersurface 60 and a second pocket 74 intermediate the first pocket 72 andthe outer surface 62. The pad 12 is removably received by the firstpocket 72. The air bladder 16 is removably received by the second pocket74.

As best seen in FIG. 7, the third section 68 of brace 58 includes afirst sheet 66 and a second sheet of elastic fabric in a facingrelationship and being of sufficient thickness and strength to providesupport when stretched adjacent the lower back 20. Each of the firstsheet 76 and the second sheet 78 respectively have a lower edge 80, 81an upper edge 82, 83 and a pair of lateral edges 84, 85, 86, 87. Thefirst sheet 76 and the second sheet 78 are joined.

.[.together.]. .Iadd.Together .Iaddend.at the respective lower edges 80,81 and at selected points 88 along the lateral edges 84-87. The upperedge 82, 83 forms an opening 90 of the second pocket 74.

The third section 68 further includes a third sheet 92 of air permeablematerial such as a mesh type fabric in a facing relationship to thesecond sheet 78 and has a lower edge 94, an upper edge 96 and lateraledges 98, 100. The second sheet 78 and the third sheet 92 are joinedtogether at the lower edge 81, 94 and at their respective lateral edges85, 87, 98, 100. The upper edge 83, 96 of each of the second sheets 78and third sheet 92 form an opening 102 of the first pocket 72. To keepthe pad 12 within the first pocket 72, a VELCRO fastener 104 maybeprovided to keep the opening 102 closed.

With particular reference to FIGS. 9-11, the air bladder 16 alsoincludes means 106 for securing the bladder 16 within the second pocket74. The securing means 106 includes a plurality of elongated straps 108having a first end 110 and a second end 112. The first end 110 isaffixed to the bladder 16. The straps 108 extend outwardly from thesecond pocket 74 between the selected points 88 along the lateral edges84-87 of the first sheet 76 and second sheet 78. The second end 112 of the straps 108 releasably attached to an adjacent one of the firstsection 64 and the second section 66 of the brace 58. More particularly,the straps 108 are attached to the outer surface 62 of the brace 58. Thestraps 108 are constructed of elastic material, similar to the brace 10.After the brace 10 has been tightened about the user 22, the straps 108provide for further adjustment of the pressure exerted on the lower back20.

The bladder 16 further has a first lateral Q edge 114 and a secondlateral edge 116. The first end 110 of a first pair of the straps 108are affixed to the first lateral edge 114 and the first end 110 of asecond pair of the straps 108 are affixed to the second lateral edge116.

As described hereinabove, the bladder 16 includes a plurality ofchambers 26. More particularly, the chambers 26 include a first chamber119 and a second chamber 120. The first chamber extends substantiallybetween the first lateral edge 114 and a vertical midpoint 122 bisectingthe bladder 16. The second chamber 120 extends substantially between thesecond lateral edge 116 and the midpoint 122. Chambers 26 may furtherinclude a third chamber 124 extending between the first lateral edge 114and the second lateral edge 116 of the bladder 26 and between an upperedge 125 and a lower edge 127 or the bladder 26.

In one embodiment of the present invention, bladder 26 may include afirst wall 126, a second wall 128 and a third wall 129 in a facingrelationship to each other. The first wall 126 is sealed to the thirdwall 129 at selected locations to form the first and second chambers119, 120. The second wall 128 and the third wall 130 are sealed togetherto form the third chamber 124. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the first wall 126, the second wall 128 and third wall 129may be constructed from vinyl.

The first and second chambers 119, 120 occupy one side of the bladder 26and the third chamber 124 is on the other side. The first and secondchambers 119, 120 are also approximately two-thirds to three-fourths theheight of the third chamber 124. The third chamber 124 has points 131wherein the second wall 128 and the third wall 129 are sealed to eachother to form intercommunicating cells 133. When inflated, the cellscause the bladder to assume an arcuate shape to conform to the lowerback 20 and to exert a uniform force upon the gel pad 12, therebypressing the gel pad 12 against the lower back 20. The first and secondbladders 119, 120 are individually inflatable to adjust the pressure,somewhat laterally, against the lower back.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the inflating means 24 mayinclude a valve assembly 130 which is carried by one of the firstsection 64 and second section 66, as best seen in FIG. 6. The valveassembly includes the one-way valves 28 hereinabove described. Valveassembly further includes the plurality of pressure relief valves 132.Each of the pressure relief valves 132. Each of the pressure reliefvalves 132 is associated with an outlet 32 of a respective one of theone-way valves 28. The pressure relief valves are user activated torelease pressure of respective one of the chambers 26. To operativelyconnect the outlet 32 to the respective one of the chambers 26, a tube134 may be fitted over the outlet 32 and coupled to a fitting 136mounted through either the first walls 126 or second wall 128 of thebladder 26 to communicate with the respective one of the first chamber118, second chamber 120 or third chamber 124. A support structure 138may be attached to the outer surface 62 of the first 64 to carry thevalve assembly 130 and parts of tubes 134.

FIGS. 13 through 19 relate to a simplified form of back brace orsupport. FIG. 13 is an exploded view taken from the inside of the backsupport, and showing the main .[.support.]. .Iadd.body .Iaddend.member202 of the assembly, the air bladder assembly 204, and the thermaltherapy pad 206. Also shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 separate from the mainassembly, is a small flexible hand pump 208 which may be kept assembledwith the back support or separate therefrom, and which may be used toselectively control the air applied to each of the three air bladders.The big circular VELCRO pac 203 makes engagement with VELCRO strip 225to hold the support assembly symmetrically around the body of thepatient.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the outside of the support, the otherside from that shown in FIG. 13. Particularly to be noted in FIGS. 13and 14 are the slits 210 and 212 at each side of the wide main portion214 of the main .[.support member 212.]. .Iadd.body member 202.Iaddend.where it merges into the two wide belt-like members 216 and 218which extend upwardly and outwardly from the area 214. After the.[.arms.]. .Iadd.straps .Iaddend.219 and 221 forming part of the airbladder assembly 204 are pulled .Iadd.from the inside portion of themain body member 202 .Iaddend.through the slits 212 and 210,respectively, they are tensioned and secured by VELCRO pads 223 toVELCRO strips 225 extending along belt members 216 and 218.

Also shown in FIG. 13 are VELCRO strips 222, the thermal therapy or gelpad 206, and the mating VELCRO pads 224 on the inner surface of the airbladder assembly 204. As is well known, VELCRO is a trademarked productand is made up of a mating pair of fabrics, one of which includes aseries of relatively stiff hooks and the other includes loops, and canbe implemented by many known fabrics which are relatively soft innature. In the present case, where the back support may be employedwithout the thermal therapy pad 206, it is preferably the pads 222 whichare the stiffer hooks be mounted on the gel or thermal therapy pad 206,with the pads 224 on the bladder assembly being of the softer loopmaterial, so as not to be uncomfortable upon direct engagement with thepatient.

To avoid undue bending or buckling or the back support, three thinflexible stays 232 are provided, mounted either permanently or removablein sewn-in sleeves on the outer surface of .Iadd.main body.Iaddend.member 202.

The air bladder assembly 204 may be formed integrally with the straps219 and 221 to provide an assembly which is of high strength, and alsohas the desirable attributes of inflatability and considerableresilience. One material which meets these needs is a nylon fabric,lightly but continuously coated with urethane at about 3 or 4 ounces ofurethane per square yard of fabric material. However, greater or lesseramounts of various plastics may be used and any of a number of open orclosed weave fabrics may be employed.

Proceeding to a consideration of additional figures of the drawings,FIGS. 15 through 18 all relate to the air bladder assembly, with theVELCRO material 224 shown in FIG. 13 having been removed form theshowings of FIGS. 15-18 for clarity of depiction of the remainingstructure.

In this regard, FIG. 15 shows the inner surface of the air bladderassembly 204 with the integral securing strap member 219 which alsoincludes the air channels and valve assembly 232, (covered by a VELCROpad in FIG. 15), and the second strap member 221 with its large VELCROpad 223 for securing to mating VELCRO strip 225, as shown to the rightin FIG. 14. Strap 219 has a similar circular VELCRO pad at referencenumeral 234 in FIG. 15, for securing to the mating broad VELCRO strip225 on the other arm 218 of the .[.basic support.]. .Iadd.main bodymember .Iaddend.202.

The air bladder assembly has three separately inflatable bladders, whichmay be inflated by pumping air by the pump 208 to a selected one of thethree inputs 242, 244, and 246. On the inner surface of the bladderassembly, as shown in FIG. 15, there is a left-hand bladder 348 boundedby the central plastic bonding line 250 and the upper and lower plasticheat-sealed bonding lines 252 and 254, and being coupled at itsright-hand end to an air channel in strap 219, leading in turn to thecentral check inlet valve 244. A similar right-hand, inner inflatablebladder 256 is inflated form inlet 246 via channel 258 extending to theleft-hand end of bladder 256.

FIG. 16 shows the other side of the assembly, and the overall bladder264 which extends for virtually the entire area of the main portion ofbladder assembly 204, and is inflatable via the lowermost channel 266included in strap 219.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 17 of FIG. 15, andcuts through the left-hand bladder 248, the overall, back-up bladder264, and the channel 258 for inflating the right-hand bladder 256. FromFIG. 17, it may be seen that the bladder assembly is formed of threelayers 272, 274 and 276 of airtight material of fairly high strength,heat-sealed together as shown in FIGS. 15, 16, and 17.

FIG. 18 is a diagrammatic showing of an enlarged cross-section of thesheet material, such as sheet 276, used in the formation of the airbladder assembly. As mentioned above, there is a core of open or closedweave material, and it has a thin coating 280 of plastic material, suchas urethane applied to it to make it airtight. With the plastic layerbeing so thin, the outer surface of the composite sheet material followsthe contours of the underlying cloth, but is now airtight and ofsignificantly increased mechanical strength. The total thickness of thematerial is only one - one hundredth of an inch thick or less.

FIG. 19 represents the cross-section of a much thicker compositematerial, that of the main .[.base or support.]. .Iadd.body.Iaddend.member 202 of FIGS. 13 and 14, and FIG. 19 is taken along line19 of FIG. 14. The composite layer 292, as shown in FIG. 19 is aboutone-eighth inch thick, and includes a central core of foam rubber 294 towhich are bonded layers 296 and 298 of finely woven cloth, such asnylon. The resultant composite material is known and is used for making"wet suits" for winter surfboarding activities, or the like. Thematerial is flexible and resilient, and it will stretch about 20 percentwith moderate forces of 5 to 20 pounds per inch.

For completeness, other dimensions and angles of interest relating tothe illustrative embodiments, will be given. In this regard, it is againnoted that the main area for the application of thermal therapy andpressure is the lower back, and the two main belt-like members extendupwardly and forwardly around the waist joining at the lower stomacharea. It is interesting to note that, when the back supports are lyingflat on a surface, and when the centerlines of the belt members areextended, the outwardly directed angles between these centerlines isabout 30 degrees for one embodiment, and about 45 to 55 degrees for theother embodiment. More specifically, with reference to FIG. 14, if thecenterlines of the two arms of the belt member are extended so that thecenterlines cross each other, there are two equal outwardly directedangles, and equal upwardly and downwardly directed angled. One specificset of dimensions for a medium size back support as shown in FIGS. 13-19will now be given. First, the overall size of the symmetrical unit isabout 36 inches, the width of each of the belts is about 5 -1/2 or 6inches and the size of the main back support area is about 10×15 inches.

Concerning another aspect of the embodiments, it may be noted that thepump 30 and the inlet 28 valving arrangements 24, as shown in FIG. 3,may be implemented by the flat pump 208 and inlet valve assembly 232, asshown in FIGS. 13 and 14. The flat pump 208 may be formed of twocircular airtight members of the type of material described in FIG. 18,sealed around their edges, mechanically biased to the expanded state,and coupled to a standard size plastic tube 209. The flat pump 208 maybe provided with a VELCRO pad 211 for securing it to the assembly. Theinlet and valve assembly 232 may include check valves and relief valvesfor each of the multiple bladders. If desired, the pump 208 may bepermanently coupled to the inlet and valve assembly 232 may be providedwith internal control for directing air to the desired bladder. oralternatively, the pump may be manually shifted to the desired inletchannel.

There has been described above an exemplary preferred embodiment of anovel back brace. It should be apparent that those skilled in the artmay now make numerous usage of and departures from the above-describedexemplary embodiment without departing from the inventive conceptsdescribed herein. Thus, by way of example but not of limitation, insteadof the fully elasticized materials as disclosed hereinabove, the mainbody .Iadd.member .Iaddend.of the back support may be formed of aflexible material with relatively little of no substantial stretch; infact, the angled configuration of the brace permits practical use ofthis type of back support using such materials. Accordingly, the presentinvention is to be defined solely by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A simplified inflatable back support assemblycomprising:a main body member formed of elasticized material forextending continuously at least around both sides and the back of apatient; said body member having an enlarged central area formed of saidelasticized material for covering the lower back; said body memberhaving first and second arm means formed of said material for holdingsaid back support assembly around the mid-section of the patient; aninflatable assembly including a central inflatable bladder substantiallyco-extensive in configuration with said enlarged central area ofelasticized material; said inflatable assembly including at least twostraps or thin arms directly secured to said bladder and extendingoutwardly along said first and second arm means and being substantiallythinner than said arm means; said first and second arm means beingprovided with transverse slits adjacent said central area to permit thepassage of said straps therethrough, with the bladder on the inside ofthe enlarged central area of the main body member and said strapsstarting inside said main body member where said straps are secured tosaid bladder, and then extending along the outside of said main bodymember after passing through said slits; means for adjustably securingthe outer ends of said first and second arm means together to provide aninitial coarse fit of said back support assembly onto said patient;means for adjustably securing said straps to the outer surfaces of saidarm means to provide a vernier fit of said back support assembly ontosaid patient; and means for selectively applying air to said bladderassembly to provide a final therapeutic and comfort fit to said backsupport assembly.
 2. A back support assembly as set forth in claim 1wherein said air bladder has a plurality of chambers, including at leastone left-hand chamber and one right-hand chamber, each of said chambersbeing individually inflatable by said inflating means.
 3. A back supportassembly as defined in claim 1 further comprising a thermal therapy pad,and means for mounting it on said assembly for applying thermal therapyto the user's back.
 4. A back support as set forth in claim 3 furthercomprising:means for heating said thermal therapy pad.
 5. A back supportassembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said arm means extend upwardlyand outwardly from said enlarged central area, and wherein the extendedcenterlines of said arm means make an outwardly directed angle ofbetween 30 degrees and sixty degrees with respect to one-another.
 6. Aback support assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein substantially theonly arrangements for holding said assembly together are said slots withthe straps extending through the slits, and additional securingmaterial, including mating pads or hook type material and loop typematerial.
 7. A back support assembly comprising:a main body memberhaving a central enlarged area for covering most of the lower back; acomposite air bladder mounted co-extensive with and juxtaposed to saidcentral area of said main body member; said composite air bladderincluding a left-hand, separately inflatable bladder means for applyingpressure to the left-hand side of the lower back; said composite airbladder further including a right-hand separately inflatable bladdermeans for applying pressure to the right-hand side of the lower back;means for inflating said left-hand or said right-hand bladder means to agreater extent than the other bladder means to apply differentialpressure to the two sides of the lower back; and a main inflatablebladder means forming part of said composite inflatable bladder, andbeing located behind and extending over both the left and right-handbladder means, thereby constituting means for applying increasedpressure to both said left and right-hand bladder inn their applicationof pressure to the patient's back.
 8. A back support assembly as definedin claim 7 further comprising a thermal therapy pad, and means formounting it on said assembly for applying thermal therapy to theuser'back.
 9. The back support as set forth in claim 8 furthercomprising:means for heating said thermal therapy pad.
 10. A simplifiedinflatable back support assembly comprising:a main body member formed oftwo-way stretch material for extending continuously at least around bothsides and the back of a patient; said body member having an enlargedcentral area formed of said material for covering the lower back; saidbody member having first and second arm means formed of said materialfor holding said back support assembly around the mid-section of apatient; an inflatable assembly including a central bladdersubstantially co-extensive in configuration with said enlarged centralarea formed of two-way stretch material; said inflatable assemblyincluding at least two straps or thin arms extending outwardly alongsaid first and second arm means and being substantially thinner thansaid arm means; said first and second arms being provided withtransverse slits adjacent said central area to permit the passage ofsaid straps therethrough, with the bladder on the inside of the enlargedcentral area of the main body member and said straps starting insidesaid main body member where said straps are secured to said bladder, andthen extending along the outside of said main body member after passingthrough said slits; means for adjustably securing the outer ends of saidfirst and second arms together to provide an initial coarse fit of saidback support assembly onto said patient; means for adjustably securingsaid straps to the outer surfaces of said arms to provide a vernier fitof said back support assembly onto said patient; means for selectivelyapplying air to said bladder assembly to provide a final therapeutic andcomfort fit to said back support assembly; and a thermal therapy padmounted to the front of said inflatable assembly, to provide thermaltherapy to the lower back of a user.
 11. A back support assembly asdefined in claim 10 wherein said arm means extend upwardly and outwardlyfrom said enlarged central area, and wherein the extended centerlines ofsaid arm means make an outwardly directed angle of 30 degrees and sixtydegrees with respect to one-another.
 12. A back support assembly asdefined in claim 10 wherein substantially the only arrangements forholding said assembly together are said slits with the straps extendingthrough the slits additional securing material, including mating pads ofhook type material and loop type material.
 13. A back support assemblyas defined in claim 10 wherein said inflatable assembly includesseparately inflatable left-hand and right-hand bladders.
 14. A backsupport assembly as defined in claim 13 wherein said inflatable assemblyfurther includes an overall separately inflatable bladder extending oversaid left and right-hand bladder.
 15. A simplified inflatable backsupport assembly comprising:a main body member formed of flexibleelastic material for extending continuously at least around both sidesand the back of a patient; said body member having an enlarged centralarea formed of said flexible elastic material for covering the lowerback; said body member having first and second arm means formed of saidmaterial for holding said back support assembly around the mid-sectionof the patient; an inflatable assembly including a central bladdersubstantially co-extensive in configuration with said enlarged centralarea; said inflatable assembly including at least two straps or thinarms secured to said bladder and extending outwardly along said firstand second arm means and being substantially thinner than said armmeans; said first and second arm means being provided with transverseslits adjacent said central area too permit the passage of said strapstherethrough; with the bladder on the inside of the enlarged centralarea of the main body member and said straps starting inside said mainbody member where said straps are secured to said bladder, and thenextending along the outside of said main body member after passingthrough said slits; means for adjustably securing the outer ends of saidfirst and second arm means together to provide an initial coarse fit ofsaid back support assembly onto said patient; and means for adjustablysecuring said straps to the outer surfaces of said arm means to providea vernier fit of said back support assembly onto said patient; and meansfor selectively applying air to said bladder assembly to provide a finaltherapeutic and comfort fit to said back support assembly.
 16. Asimplified back support assembly comprising:a main body member formed offlexible and resilient material for extending continuously at leastaround both sides and the back of a patient; said body member having anenlarged central area formed of said flexible resilient material forcovering the lower back; said body member having first and second armmeans formed of said material for holding said back support assemblyaround the mid-section of the patient; a pressure application assemblyincluding means for applying resilient pressure to the back of thepatient substantially co-extensive in configuration with said enlargedcentral area; said pressure application assembly including at least twostraps or thin arms secured to said pressure applying means andextending outwardly along said first and second arm means and beingsubstantially thinner than said arm means; said first and second armmeans being provided with transverse slits adjacent said central area topermit the passage of said straps therethrough, with the pressureapplying means on the inside of the enlarged central area of the mainbody member and said straps starting inside said main body member wheresaid straps are secured to said .[.bladder.]. .Iadd.pressure applyingmeans.Iaddend., and then extending along the outside of said main bodymember after passing through such slits; means for adjustably securingto outer ends of said first and second arm means together to provide aninitial course fit of said back support assembly onto said patient; andmeans for adjustably securing said straps to the outer surfaces of saidarms to provide a vernier fit of said back support assembly onto saidpatient.
 17. A simplified inflatable back support assembly comprising:amain body member formed of elasticized material for extendingcontinuously at least around both sides and the back of a patient; saidbody member having an enlarged central area formed of said elasticizedmaterial for covering the lower back; .[.said body member having firstand second arm means formed.]. said body member having first and secondarm means formed of said material for holding said back support assemblyaround the mid-section of the patient; a bladder assembly including acentral bladder substantially co-extensive in configuration with saidenlarged central area of elasticized material, said bladder includingmeans for confining gas therein; said bladder assembly including atleast two straps or thin arms directly secured to said bladder andextending outwardly along said first and second arm means and beingsubstantially thinner than .Iadd.said .Iaddend.arm means; said first andsecond arm means being provided with transverse slits adjacent saidcentral area to permit the passage of said straps therethrough, with thebladder on the inside of the enlarged central area of the main bodymember and said straps starting inside said main body member where saidstraps are secured to said bladder, and then extending along the outsideof said main body member after passing through said slits; means foradjustably securing the outer ends of said first and second arm meanstogether .[.too.]. .Iadd.to .Iaddend.provide an initial coarse fit ofsaid back support assembly onto said patient; means for adjustablysecuring said straps to the outer surfaces of said arm means to providea vernier fit of said back support assembly onto said patient; and saidbladder assembly providing a supplemental therapeutic and comfort fit tosaid back support assembly. .Iadd.
 18. A simplified back supportassembly comprising:a main body member formed of flexible material forextending continuously at least around both sides and the back of apatient; said body member having an enlarged central area formed of saidflexible material for covering the lower back; said body member havingfirst and second arm means formed of said material for holding said backsupport assembly around the mid-section of the patient; a pressureapplication assembly including means for applying pressure to the backof the patient substantially co-extensive in configuration with saidenlarged central area; said pressure application assembly including atleast two straps or thin arms secured to said pressure applying meansand extending outwardly along said first and second arm means and beingsubstantially thinner than said arm means; said first and second armmeans being provided with transverse slits adjacent said central area topermit the passage of said straps therethrough, with the pressureapplying means on the inside of the enlarged central area of the mainbody member and said straps starting inside said main body member wheresaid straps are secured to said pressure applying means, and thenextending along the outside of said main body member after passingthrough said slits; means for adjustably securing the outer ends of saidfirst and second arm means together to provide an initial course fit ofsaid back support assembly onto said patient; and means for adjustablysecuring said straps to the outer surfaces of said arms to provide avernier fit of said back support assembly onto said patient. .Iaddend..Iadd.
 19. A back support assembly as defined in claim 18 wherein saidarm means extend upwardly and outwardly form said enlarged central area,and wherein the extended centerlines of said arm means make an outwardlydirected angle of between 30 degrees and sixty degrees with respect toone another. .Iaddend. .Iadd.20. A back support assembly as defined inclaim 18 further comprising a thermal therapy pad, and means formounting it on said assembly for providing thermal therapy to the lowerback of a user. .Iaddend. .Iadd.21. A simplified inflatable back supportassembly comprising:a main body member formed of flexible material forextending continuously at least around both sides and the back of apatient; said body member having an enlarged central area formed of saidflexible material for covering the lower back; said body member havingfirst and second arm means formed of said material for holding said backsupport assembly around the mid-section of the patient; a bladderassembly including a central bladder substantially co-extensive inconfiguration with said enlarged central area of flexible material, saidbladder including means for confining gas therein; said bladder assemblyincluding at least two straps or thin arms directly secured to saidbladder and extending outwardly along said first and second arm meansand being substantially thinner than said arm means; said first andsecond arms being provided with transverse slits adjacent said centralarea to permit the passage of said strap therethrough, with the bladderon the inside of the enlarged central area of the main body member andsaid straps starting inside said main body member where said straps aresecured to said bladder, and then extending along the outside of saidmain body member after passing through said slits; means for adjustablysecuring the outer ends of said first and second arms means together toprovide an initial coarse fit of said back support assembly onto saidpatient; means for adjustably securing said straps to the outer surfaceof said arms to provide a vernier fit of said back support assembly ontosaid patient; and said bladder assembly providing a supplementaltherapeutic and comfort fit to said back support assembly. .Iaddend.